He says, She says

Umitori Kaede sighed in defeat as she slumped onto the couch in the office lounge. She hadn't been able to get even one word out of Eyeshield 21. And she had spent the whole day chasing him too.

"Mao!" Kaede said. "Why does he have to be stubborn and make my life difficult? I just want a chance to expose his face to the curious public." She sighed again. "And that cheerleader said that he was really cute too."

Kaede sat for a moment or two before something connected in her mind and she sat up like a bullet. "Of course! That's it! Why didn't I see it before? Takai-san! Takai-san, come quick!"

Takai Takeru quickly ran into the room his camera held close to his chest. "What is it Umitori-san? What's wrong?"

"I need to see today's tape!"

Takeru stared at her. "You mean to tell me that you shouted like a dying lunatic because you wanted to see a dumb tape of nothing interesting?"

An evil glint shown in Kaede's eye as she grinned at her cameraman. "Nothing interesting…you say?"

"Huh?"

XXXXXXXXXX

"Oooiiiiiiii!" Monta said as he slammed open the club door and fell through, tumbling wildly across the floor. "Itai-tai-tai!" He rubbed his head gingerly but quickly forgot it as he spotted a confused Sena in the midst of the crowded room. "S-Sena! Quick! Turn on the TV!"

"What's wrong Monta-kun?" Kurita asked. "Are you alright?"

"Wha-? Forget about that! Just turn on the TV! To the news!"

"Calm down Monta-kun," Mamori said. "Sena is turning it on."

"Which channel do you want to see Monta?" Sena said as he looked back at his friend.

"Aahhh! Any of them! Just change it to the news!"

Sena sent Monta a confused look but did as his friend said. Finding the nearest news station Sena paused and moved back so that the rest of the team could see. And boy, did he wish that he hadn't.

"…That's right Kumabukuro-san. I was at Deimon yesterday and was able to get footage of Eyeshield 21 with his girlfriend."

"Huh?"

"Huuh?"

"Huuuuh!"

"Eyeshield 21's…girlfriend!"

"S-Sena-kun! What do they mean?" Kurita said. "Sena-kun? Sena-kun?"

Sena was frozen. He couldn't even hear what everyone else was saying. All he could register was that same line over and over again.

'I was at Deimon yesterday and was able to get footage of Eyeshield 21 with his girlfriend.'

Sena swallowed.

'Was able to get footage of Eyeshield 21 with his girlfriend.'

Sweat began to roll down his temples.

'Eyeshield 21 with his girlfriend.'

He shook his head hard. 'She's wrong,' he thought. 'I don't have a girlfriend! She's just making it up! She's making it up. Making it up. Making it-.'

"Here's a small clip of what I managed to recover from our tape." Kaede gestured with her palm to a small box at the top right corner of the screen where Eyeshield could be seen running off with a cheerleader just before Kurita got in their way. The image quickly cut to the two of them surprised and nervous on the roof of the school before a pink gas filled the screen. There was a small break in the cloud where the camera caught sight of Eyeshield and the cheerleader rushing off.

"Now's our chance!" Eyeshield said as the two made their escape.

"And there you have it," Kaede said with a smirkish grin. "Obviously my companion and I interrupted a tender moment on the roof and their friends where eager to let them have their privacy. Of course if he really didn't want to be discovered then he wouldn't have taken his girlfriend up there to be alone when he knew that we wanted to interview him. He was just trying to be clever about how he disclosed the information. As expected from the mysterious Eyeshield 21."

Sena's face was twisted into a look of pure horror as Monta moved over and switched off the television. "Oi, Sena. Are you alright?"

"S-Sena?" Mamori said. "What's the matter?" She moved over and rested her hands on his shoulders. "Are you sick? You look awfully pale. Maybe I should take you home-."

The door flew open again. This time revealing the trembling form of Suzuna.

"Sena!" She said. "You and I need to have a talk! Now!"

Mamori stared in surprise as Sena suddenly vanished from in front of her only to somehow appear in Suzuna's grip as she dragged his petrified body from the club room.

Everyone stared after the two of them until a disappointed voice reached their ears from the back corner of the room.

"Lucky," Toganou said. "Eyeshield 21 is so lucky…To be able to be with such a sexy cheerleader as Suzuna-chan."

"What!" The team shouted in surprise.

Toganou didn't hear them. "So lucky…"

XXXXXXXXXX

"Sena!" Suzuna said once they finally came to a stop at the edge of the river. "Everyone thinks that we're dating!" Her cheeks where glowing light pink as she smiled happily up at him.

At the word 'dating' Sena finally came out of his daze. "No! No, no, no, no, no, NO! It's not like that! I don't like Suzuna! Not at all!"

"W-what?"

"Huh?" Sena said. "Suzuna?" His eyes grew wide and his hands flew to his mouth. "No! Th-that's not what I meant to say!"

"Heh," Suzuna said as she lowered her head and waved her hand. "Don't worry. I know. I would feel the same way." She turned. "After all…" She looked back at him with an overly bright smile. "Why should you like someone like me huh?" She quickly pushed off on her left roller blade. "Sayonara!"

Sena stood motionless watching Suzuna skate off. He really hadn't meant to say that the way it had come out. He was just startled.

Sena frowned. He would explain it to her better tomorrow after practice. Right now she looked to be in a hurry.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Oi, Mina-san," Mamori said as she stepped up next to the bench during afternoon practice. "Has anyone seen Suzuna-chan? I can't find her."

Juumonji, Kuroki, and Toganou all shook their heads before quickly returning to practice while Kurita paused and moved back to look over at Mamori.

"I haven't seen her since she went off with Sena-kun yesterday," Kurita said as he panted and wiped the sweat from his eyes.

"Oi! Kuso fatty! Who told you to rest? Ya-ha!" Hiruma said as he emptied his gun's magazine while Kurita hurriedly returned to his practicing.

Mamori raised a disapproving eyebrow but turned away from the linemen and walked over to where Eyeshield and Monta where practicing on the ladder.

"Eyeshield-kun!" Mamori called. "Do you know where Suzuna-chan is?"

Eyeshield stumbled at the mention of the cheerleader's name and blushed as he straitened. "A-ano. Wh-why would I know?"

"Oh come on," Monta said as he nudged Eyeshield in the side. "Shouldn't a guy know where his girlfriend is?"

"Monta!" Eyeshield said as he looked down at his fidgeting fingers while trying to fight down his darkening blush.

"Monta-kun." Mamori frowned. "Please don't tease Eyeshield-kun."

Monta seemed to melt into a puddle at the disappointment in Mamori's voice.

"Depression MAX…" He turned away to hide his stream of tears as Mamori continued to question Eyeshield.

"Are you sure that you don't know where she is? You and Sena are usually the last people she sees before she goes home."

"Well, I did see her yesterday…A-after she was done talking with S-Sena!" Eyeshield said as he waved his hands wildly. "I-I ran into her on my jog home and…she…uh…" Eyeshield froze.

Mamori tilted her head slightly to the side. "What is it?"

"She said 'sayonara'." He whispered.

"Nani?"

"She didn't say 'ja ne'," He continued to himself. "She said 'sayonara'!"

"Eyeshield-kun?"

Eyeshield's head jerked up and the sun glinted brightly off his helmet's shield. "Sayonara means forever!"

Mamori was about to ask him what he was talking about when suddenly a swift, chill breeze blew past her. She closed her eyes and shivered. When she opened them she was standing on the field alone. Eyeshield was gone.

XXXXXXXXXXX

'Where could she have gone?' Sena thought as he sped through the streets still dressed as Eyeshield 21. 'Why would she just leave? Why?'

The scenes and people around him began to blur and he had to slide to a sudden halt in order to avoid hitting anything. Hot tears slid down his cheeks as he stared down the crowded street.

"W-why did she leave me?"

"Eyeshield-kun! Eyeshield-kun!"

Sena jerked back to reality and did his best to scrub the tears from his eyes without removing his mask. Glancing behind him Sena frowned as he spotted Umitori Kaede running through the crowd. Her loyal camera man Takai Takeru following close behind.

"Could I get an interview? Just one! And some pictures of you with your girlfriend Taki Suzuna-chan!"

Sena spun around angrily, ready to give the nosey reporter a piece of his mind when the scrape of roller blades reached his ears. Time seemed to slow as Suzuna appeared behind the reporter, skating past. For a just a second she glanced to her left and spotted Sena. Surprised she rolled to a stop, her eyes locking with his through his colored eye shield.

"Sena…" She whispered as several people moved around her, sending her irritated looks as they went past.

Sena smiled slightly and went to move towards her but was cut off as Kaede shoved her mike in his face.

"Tell us Eyeshield 21-kun! What's it like having Taki-chan as your girlfriend?"

Sena's eyes shifted from Kaede to Suzuna and back before they hardened in determination. 'I can do this…'

"Taki-san…is not my girlfriend." Eyeshield's voice was deep as he stared strait at Suzuna. He knew that she could hear every word.

"Oh?" Kaede said, unconvinced. "Isn't she?"

"No." Sena's eyes never left Suzuna even as she turned to leave. "Taki-san…is Kobayakawa Sena's girl."

Suzuna stopped. Slowly she turned to face Sena. Below his eye shield she could see a small smile and tears sprang to her eyes. "S-Sena…"

"K-Kobayakawa Sena!" Kaede said. "The Deimon Team Secretary?"

"Yes."

"B-but how can this be? No one is interested in the love life of the team secretary!"

Sena smirked. "All the better." He said in Eyeshield's voice before he turned and ran.

Suzuna didn't follow him. She knew where he was going.

XXXXXXXXX

When Sena arrived at the river he saw Suzuna standing with her back to him, facing the water as the sun set over the hill. He paused for a moment to swallow before he moved a step closer.

"You are a very confusing person, Sena."

Sena smiled nervously. "G-gomen."

"Why do you always apologize?" Suzuna said softly. "For once, can't you just say something you want to say?"

Sena thought for a moment before he moved up next to her and took her shoulders in his hands to make her face him. "Suzuna-chan."

Suzuna looked up into the face of Kobayakawa Sena, glad that it was him she was able to be with right then and not Eyeshield 21. "What?"

"I really like you."

Suzuna stood quietly and just kept staring at Sena even when she felt his hands began to tremble. "I-I didn't mean to say what I did yesterday. I was surprised. And embarrassed. I…I didn't want you to find out that I liked you that way. I'm sorry."

Slowly Suzuna reached up and removed Sena's hands from her shoulders. His face fell. He knew that she would reject him. He looked down at his feet sullenly as he waited for her to run away.

"Sena."

His head came up.

Suzuna held his hands tightly in her own.

"I…I really like you too…"

Sena looked at her stunned for a moment before he smiled and gripped her hands back. "I'm glad."

XXXXXXXXXX

Hiruma grinned evilly as he crouched on the bridge with his video camera and the devil's handbook. "Kuso chibi and kuso suke-ta. Heeheeheeheeheeheeheeheehee."

"Hiruma-kun? What are you doing?"

"Hm." Hiruma's face became instantly impassive as he looked over his shoulder at Mamori. "What do you want? Kuso manager?"

"Hiruma-kun!" Mamori said. "Don't call me that!"

"Heh." Hiruma stood and slid his camera and the devil's handbook into the bag at his side. "I'll call you what ever I want kuso manager."

Mamori scowled and placed her hands on her hips as Hiruma walked by her. "Mao, Hiruma-kun." Her face softened as she looked over the bridge at Sena and Suzuna. Before he got too far Mamori spun around. "Arigato! Hiruma-kun!"

Hiruma slowed to a stop for a moment and paused. After several seconds he lifted his hand silently before he put it in his pocket and continued on his way.

Mamori smiled and clasped her hands together at her chest. "Arigato…Yoichi-kun…"

The End

Kaliea: Okay, just a few notes. I have no idea what that annoying reporters name is. I don't know what her cameraman's name is either. I made that up. As for the whole 'Sayonara' vs. 'ja ne' thing. In Japanese saying 'sayonara' means that you plan on never seeing that person again. Whether they are just casual acquaintances or lovers that parted on bad terms sayonara means 'good-bye forever' while ja ne means 'until we next meet'. Now that that is all cleared up please review and tell me what you think. Also if you have anymore questions you can ask me in a review or email me. Ja ne!